Baylor Research Education Program in Neurosurgery Abstract The Baylor Neurosurgery Residency has been in place for over fifty years, and has long been one of the nation's largest and most well respected neurosurgical training programs. The program has always had a strong academic tradition, and graduates have served as faculty at many leading medical schools. Beginning in 2006, the program was retooled to substantially enhance its ability to train the next generation of academic neurosurgeons. In addition to developing a culture that emphasizes evidence-based practice, clinical and basic research, and didactic training in basic neuroscience underlying neurosurgical practice, the program was expanded by a full year in order to provide residents with a deeper and more meaningful academic experience. Subsets of trainees in the Baylor Neurosurgery Residency have the potential to develop into academicians who can effectively combine clinical neurosurgery practice with research that advances the field. The Baylor Research Education Program in Neurosurgery will select outstanding individual neurosurgery residents who have the background, talent, and motivation to become successful physician-scientists, and then carefully integrate additional specialized research education into their residency training. The program will mentor these residents through the entire research process, from project conception to experimental design, data analysis and interpretation, to publication of results, and finally to th development of an effective plan for beginning a career as a physician-scientist. The hallmark of this program will be a twelve-month research block during the fourth year of the residency, during which the trainee will engage in a mentored research project on a near full time basis. This hands-on approach is the most effective way to prepare young clinician scientists for a productive research career by allowing them to conduct research independently, but with enough support to avoid the common pitfalls experienced by young researchers. To maximize research productivity, residents will also have a four-month part time research block in the preceding year to plan a project and write a research proposal with guidance from an experienced scientific mentor, as well as an additional four-month part time research block during the year that follows the dedicated research year in order to wrap up their projects, complete remaining data analysis, and write up manuscripts for publication. In addition to carrying out a research project, residents selected for the research education program will be trained in experimental design, scientific writing, oral presentation, and in the responsible conduct of research. Furthermore, they will receive considerable oversight and career counseling from a team of experts mentors with the intent of paving their way to success in obtaining a mentored career development award and becoming a productive physician-scientist.